Three things: 1) more GUI configuration tools. TOOLS, TOOLS, & more TOOLS. Automate as much as possible. Computer users don't want to generally geek around, they want to show off flashy things & play games. Remove the user from the command-line. Look how popular Macintosh Apples are. BSD underneath, slick graphics & GUI on top. We need to stop being Linux "snobs," "oh, you didn't know it was 'lshw' to SHoW your hardware? Aren't you stupid & ain't I cool because I've spent my precious time learning such things."
2) Capture the corporations. The BIG ones. AT&T is the largest corporate user of Windows in the U.S., yet they're paranoid about security. They have a staff of computer experts to maintain machines who would be perfectly happy if it were Linux OSs they were supporting. You put 600,000 Linux boxes on a company's desks and people will notice.
3) That new little integrated Mint Box. It's cute, it works, & it's cheap.

To be honest, I stumbled upon Mint because I was looking for an alternative to windows. I would never have thought of using it, because I thought Linux was too complicated. Having found the wonderful Mint I now know how great it is and how great the community here is. As much as I can I promote it to others and have placed it on our son's work pc along side windows which he needs for certain things as the companies don't have a linux version of their software. Now as much as self promotion is wonderful, we can all only reach a relatively small number of people.
I am surprised that although there is a Linux Mint twitter, there is little action on that page. I understand this voluntary, but the use of social media is perhaps the best advertising tool there is. Practically everyone has even a twitter or facebook account, so may be just a little be more action here might help. It doesn't have to be every day or even every week, just enough to get it out there. And if every member of this forum retweeted and mention it on facebook with the direct links to the web pages I am sure that will help.
In the meantime I shall do my best with my blog to direct peeps in this direction and once they have (my blog) has been done in a few days time post them on facebook and twitter.

A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.- Max Planck

Set up a Mint Server edition and pitch to Mom&Pop shops with your "custom built" business model PCs.

How will Mint server edition be different to Ubuntu server, given that just about everything Mint adds is GUI based? Why would business use Mint server?

Brain wrote:Three things: 1) more GUI configuration tools. TOOLS, TOOLS, & more TOOLS. Automate as much as possible. Computer users don't want to generally geek around, they want to show off flashy things & play games. Remove the user from the command-line. Look how popular Macintosh Apples are. BSD underneath, slick graphics & GUI on top. We need to stop being Linux "snobs," "oh, you didn't know it was 'lshw' to SHoW your hardware? Aren't you stupid & ain't I cool because I've spent my precious time learning such things.

TOOLS, TOOLS, TOOLS I agree with, but if you think Mint lacks GUI tools in order to be elitist I think you're mistaken, and those guys asking people to enter stuff in the terminal are generally doing it to enable them to help others out with problems in the quickest possible manner.

I hadn't spotted that! No no NO!! Provide GUI alternatives by all means, but for some of us the Terminal is an essential resource and is much quicker and easier than graphical tools for more tasks than you might realize. It is, however, optional for many users.

MintBean wrote:those guys asking people to enter stuff in the terminal are generally doing it to enable them to help others out with problems in the quickest possible manner

+1. Since people have different versions, different desktop environments and sometimes highly customized, it's certainly easier to ask someone to copy & paste a few commands in the Terminal than to go through various menus etc..

Brain wrote:Three things: 1) more GUI configuration tools. TOOLS, TOOLS, & more TOOLS. Automate as much as possible. Computer users don't want to generally geek around, they want to show off flashy things & play games. Remove the user from the command-line. Look how popular Macintosh Apples are. BSD underneath, slick graphics & GUI on top. We need to stop being Linux "snobs," "oh, you didn't know it was 'lshw' to SHoW your hardware? Aren't you stupid & ain't I cool because I've spent my precious time learning such things."

I'd agree with that. In addition, an automated setting to install essential security updates would be useful. Many computer users don't want to have to bother with anything other than web surfing, entertainment and messaging. Providing a "Security Settings" icon in the General settings panel could be useful, say with 3 options Paranoid, Cautious, Risk-taker. Then for each choice a GUI window with boxes ticked for a variety of security options - firewall, levels of browser settings, etc - One would need to be careful as users might like the idea of security but they also want functionality.

I have been doing some rebuilding and LM installs for some seniors in assisted living.
I have been refurbishing their computers by cleaning out the dust and getting rid of windows by copying their diaries (word docs and Pictures) to flash drives and loading LM 18.2 or 3 cinnamon and putting up all the pretty pictures, a couple of games (Kpat) solitaire and using pink icons and red buttons. I also use much larger fonts like 10 to 14 and 1.4 or 1.5 text scaling factor. The documents are much easier for them to read this way. I go by weekly and windows is starting to disappear from the facility. I WOUND UP SETTING THE OFFICE UP WITH LM 18.2 Cinnamon. For the first time they are bug free.